Dan Grajek grew up on Detroit’s northwest side. By age twenty, he had hitchhiked to New York once and California twice. Once he settled down, he earned a Bachelors degree in Psychology at the University of Michigan Dearborn (UM-D).  For over 20 years, he worked as a graphic designer and a marketing coordinator at two corporations and a non-profit organization. Later in life, he returned to UM-D to earn his Masters degree in Teaching. He had taught high school English at a residential detention facility for young women in Dearborn Heights. His all-time favorite accomplishment was marrying into a violin-making family. He is married to Lori, has three sons—Andy, Justin and Ben—and lives in Dearborn, Michigan.